Acoustic Audio AA5170 Home Theater 5.1 Bluetooth Speaker System 700W with Powered Sub
I purchased this system as an affordable 5.1 Surround Sound System for my computer. The speakers (by default) are set to use only 2.1. That means that only the Front Left/Right and Sub speakers produce audio. To get 5.1 (all speakers working) you need to use the remote and simply press one button. This is a really nice feature and works perfectly for me when I’m playing only music. If you want to enjoy the benefits of Dolby 5.1 Surround sound during a movie tho you need to switch the speakers back to their native 2.1 setting. Doing this allows your computer’s sound card (if wired correctly) to take control of all five speakers. I’m using a dedicated Creative Labs SB X-Fi sound card. The sound card provides instructions on how to achieve (TRUE) 5.1 surround sound for the ultimate movie experience. In this case, it required me to connect three Audio Y Cable Splitter 1-Mini Plug, 2-RCA Plugs into the back of the sound card. Connect the RC plugs into the correct connectors behind the sub-woofer at the DVD terminals and switch to the DVD output setting via the remote control. Don’t forget to configure your sound cards speaker settings to 5.1 as well as the software you’re using to play the movie. I use Power DVD version 12 to play DVD/Blue Ray movies.
Ok… Let’s talk about the speakers.
Don’t expect these speakers to feel like an expensive pair of satellite speakers from BOSE, etc. They aren’t, but they sure do look nice and the sound quality they produce is incredible. My only real complaint is that the speakers are pre-wired with cheap cable. It’s very thin and you can’t re-wire them without breaking into the speaker box. Another complaint is that they don’t contain any threaded connections for speaker mounts. This is a drag, but you can remedy this problem by cutting the wires at about 5 inches from the speaker and connect 18 AWG speaker wire to them. I wouldn’t recommend using anything thicker than that because the original speaker wires are about the thickness of 3-4 horse hairs. Another thing I did was purchase the “VideoSecu Universal Satellite Speaker Mounts”. These are made of heavy plastic and work great for these little speakers. You can safely drill holes in the back of them from the middle left/right sides for the mounting hardware.
On the plus side is the look and quality of the sub-woofer. It really works great, but I would recommend that you lower the sound level about 5-6 clicks below that of the satellite speakers.
With a little practice you will enjoy the simplicity of being able to control volume levels for the Front/Center/Rear and Sub-woofer independently via the remote control. The Blue Tooth feature and Radio also works great. I streamed audio from both my iPhone and iPad with no problems at all.
So here is the deal. When you want to enjoy a movie using true dobly 5.1 surround sound you need to set the speakers at 2.1. When you want to play music use the remote and turn all your speakers on via the 5.1 setting. Another trick worth mentioning is to purchase a “Belkin Speaker and Headphone Splitter”. This will allow you turn off your sub-woofer and use a standard two-speaker system for your desktop.
If you get everything working correctly you will discover that this system is truly amazing considering the price. In all honesty the most expensive thing about this was buying enough “Cordmate C10” wiremold to run all the speaker cable through. If you decide to do this, don’t hesitate running 18 AWG through them all. Just leave enough excess cable (about 2 feet) for ease of connecting the wires at the speakers and sub-woofer.
I purchased this system as an affordable 5.1 Surround Sound System for my computer. The speakers (by default) are set to use only 2.1. That means that only the Front Left/Right and Sub speakers produce audio. To get 5.1 (all speakers working) you need to use the remote and simply press one button. This is a really nice feature and works perfectly for me when I’m playing only music. If you want to enjoy the benefits of Dolby 5.1 Surround sound during a movie tho you need to switch the speakers back to their native 2.1 setting. Doing this allows your computer’s sound card (if wired correctly) to take control of all five speakers. I’m using a dedicated Creative Labs SB X-Fi sound card. The sound card provides instructions on how to achieve (TRUE) 5.1 surround sound for the ultimate movie experience. In this case, it required me to connect three Audio Y Cable Splitter 1-Mini Plug, 2-RCA Plugs into the back of the sound card. Connect the RC plugs into the correct connectors behind the sub-woofer at the DVD terminals and switch to the DVD output setting via the remote control. Don’t forget to configure your sound cards speaker settings to 5.1 as well as the software you’re using to play the movie. I use Power DVD version 12 to play DVD/Blue Ray movies.
Ok… Let’s talk about the speakers.
Don’t expect these speakers to feel like an expensive pair of satellite speakers from BOSE, etc. They aren’t, but they sure do look nice and the sound quality they produce is incredible. My only real complaint is that the speakers are pre-wired with cheap cable. It’s very thin and you can’t re-wire them without breaking into the speaker box. Another complaint is that they don’t contain any threaded connections for speaker mounts. This is a drag, but you can remedy this problem by cutting the wires at about 5 inches from the speaker and connect 18 AWG speaker wire to them. I wouldn’t recommend using anything thicker than that because the original speaker wires are about the thickness of 3-4 horse hairs. Another thing I did was purchase the “VideoSecu Universal Satellite Speaker Mounts”. These are made of heavy plastic and work great for these little speakers. You can safely drill holes in the back of them from the middle left/right sides for the mounting hardware.
On the plus side is the look and quality of the sub-woofer. It really works great, but I would recommend that you lower the sound level about 5-6 clicks below that of the satellite speakers.
With a little practice you will enjoy the simplicity of being able to control volume levels for the Front/Center/Rear and Sub-woofer independently via the remote control. The Blue Tooth feature and Radio also works great. I streamed audio from both my iPhone and iPad with no problems at all.
So here is the deal. When you want to enjoy a movie using true dobly 5.1 surround sound you need to set the speakers at 2.1. When you want to play music use the remote and turn all your speakers on via the 5.1 setting. Another trick worth mentioning is to purchase a “Belkin Speaker and Headphone Splitter”. This will allow you turn off your sub-woofer and use a standard two-speaker system for your desktop.
If you get everything working correctly you will discover that this system is truly amazing considering the price. In all honesty the most expensive thing about this was buying enough “Cordmate C10” wiremold to run all the speaker cable through. If you decide to do this, don’t hesitate running 18 AWG through them all. Just leave enough excess cable (about 2 feet) for ease of connecting the wires at the speakers and sub-woofer.
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